Day 1: Gifts
by SooperSara
Summary: Zutara Week 2019: Day 1 When Sokka drags him out on a "manly shopping expedition" on Ember Island, Zuko finds a gift for Katara.


Zuko should have known better than to buy a gift for Katara. He wasn't _good_ at things like this. He wasn't sure what sorts of things she liked, and as he had learned with Mai, getting it wrong was worse than not trying at all.

But he reached the courtyard where Katara was practicing before he could make up his mind to hide the box and pretend that he'd never had such a stupid idea. At the sound of his footsteps, Katara turned and smiled at him. Zuko let out a long breath. Who was he kidding? Stupid ideas were his _thing_.

* * *

Shortly after lunch, Sokka dragged him into town for a "manly shopping expedition". Zuko wasn't entirely sure what part of the shopping trip was meant to be manly or why Sokka insisted on calling it an expedition. Or, for that matter, why Zuko was there at all. Sokka seemed content enough wandering from shop to shop on his own, ogling too-expensive weapons and bags and useless shiny things.

When Sokka got tired of the grumbling and shooed him away, Zuko thought about going back to the beach house. It would be better than staying here and trying to talk Sokka out of spending all their money on—was that a hat for Momo? But instead, Zuko found himself drawn to a little souvenir stand near the edge of the beach.

It was all silly trinkets—candy dishes and ashtrays made from octopus clam shells, polished pebbles with _Ember Island_ engraved on top, colorful bits of seashell suspended to catch the sunlight—but the jewelry caught his eye.

* * *

He handed the box to her. _Agni, _this was all wrong. He couldn't think of a single word to say, and he'd bought her a gift from the cheapest souvenir stand on the island, and Katara didn't really _wear _jewelry anyway, and it was stupid of him to think that she would want a Fire Nation trinket, and the box was _red_. Why in the name of all the spirits hadn't it occurred to him to ask for a different color box? As breathtaking as Katara was in red, it wasn't her color, and he knew that. Any time she had a choice, she always opted for her Water Tribe blue, and he should have thought of that, and—

* * *

In hindsight, it was a bad idea to even look. Nothing he could possibly find at a beachside souvenir stand could possibly compare with the jewelry that she and Suki had "borrowed" from Azula's wardrobe. But somehow, Zuko found himself pointing to a delicate, crescent-shaped comb, asking the clerk if he could see _that one_. The graceful seashell comb reminded him of Katara, and the bits of blue seaglass affixed to the curved shaft were nearly as vivid as her eyes. There was nothing fine about it, no gold or precious stones, but when the sun caught the comb's pearly sheen, he couldn't help but think of the way her necklace glinted when she smiled up at him.

It was a risk. A _huge_ risk.

* * *

Katara looked up at him. "What's this?"

"Oh, um." He rubbed the back of his neck and hoped with every fiber of his being that she couldn't hear his heartbeat. "Sokka wanted me to go shopping with him, and—I just—thought of you."

* * *

Zuko tried not to blush while he paid for the comb, and he tried not to glare when Sokka snuck up behind him to ask why he was blushing.

_It's just a stupid little comb, _he told himself. At least it hadn't cost him much money—compared with Sokka's purchases, anyway. That _was_ a hat for Momo. Zuko didn't even want to ask what was in the other packages.

Still, this was a bad idea. As much as the comb reminded him of Katara, it was clearly a Fire Nation design. He saw her reluctance every time she was forced to trade her mother's necklace for something less conspicuous. He couldn't blame her for that. He _wouldn't_ blame her if she wanted nothing to do with Fire Nation trinkets.

* * *

"Really?" A slow smile crept across her face. "That's so sweet of you, Zuko."

His face went hot.

Grinning, she nudged him. "Do I get to open it now, or do I have to wait for a special occasion?"

Zuko shrugged, looking away. "Whenever. It's really nothing—"

Katara grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to the steps. "Come on. You have to watch me open it."

Zuko's stomach twisted, but he sat down beside her. _Don't get your hopes up, _he reminded himself.

* * *

All the way back to the house, his blood roared in his ears. What if she didn't like it? What if she was offended that he'd even thought it was appropriate to buy her a gift? She'd forgiven him, but that didn't mean they were _friends_ now. He thought they were. He wanted to be friends with her, but he'd been wrong about things like this before. What if this was just Mai all over again? More proof that he didn't know the first thing about people, that the universe itself was against him and he would be better off if he just accepted it. Zuko wasn't lucky. The spirits weren't kind to him, and his life would be infinitely simpler if he could just remember that.

* * *

The corner of her smile still showed in profile as she opened the box. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Zuko, this is—"

He braced himself.

"—beautiful." She turned to him, eyes shining. "Where did you find this?"

He hesitated, disbelieving. "You like it?"

"I _love_ it." She turned the comb over, tracing along the teeth with a finger. "I didn't know the Fire Nation made jewelry out of seashells."

"Uh—we don't, usually." He scuffed at the ground with his heel. "It's mostly an Ember Island thing. You know—souvenirs."

Katara was watching him steadily, not quite smiling, but eyes full of warmth. "It's almost like something we would make in the Water Tribe."

His forehead scrunched. "Really?"

She laughed, and a hand rose to touch the pendant at her throat. "What do you think my necklace is made of?" With a quick, fluid motion, she swept her hair up and pinned it in place with the comb. And then, before he had time to react, Katara threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Zuko. It's perfect."

Zuko let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and felt himself relax as he returned her embrace.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Woot! Welcome to my first-ever Zutara Week! I don't think I've ever written this much in this short a period of time (a NaNoWriMo participant I am _**not**_), and I'm so excited to share the fics I've managed to finish. Reviews are always appreciated, and thanks so much for reading!

PS: Cover art is an edit by me!


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